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enBarnes made us all confused about what he’d do, that’s why no one tackled himJohn Barnes slalom spectacular against Brazil, as told by the men he beat at the Maracana in 1984...Mauricio Savaresehttp://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/john-barnes-great-goals-retold
John Barnes has said that scoring a career-defining stunner, dribbling past the Brazilian defence at the Maracana in 1984, was an “out-of-body experience” – since he can’t remember doing it. When FFT asks for the recollections of the men he ran past, the response isn’t so different.
“English goal... English goal... are you sure it was in Rio?” asks right-back Leandro, the first to be tricked by the then-Watford winger. We find a video clip to jog his memory. “Oh, I remember now! Yes, that was a nice goal he scored. What’s he called again?”
It seems Barnes’ mazy dribble is less well-known in Brazil than it is in England. “Well, it was a goal we conceded; we usually prefer to forget those,” jokes Leandro. “It’s fair that the English love that goal, but in Brazil we have a better memory for World Cup goals. We all remember Michael Owen’s goal against Argentina – but that’s because it was against Argentina!”
The greatest goal ‘Digger’ ever scored came in a friendly that England only played because they hadn’t qualified for Euro 1984 in France, and helped to at least briefly lift the nation’s spirits.
Ricardo Gomes was another defender to be beaten in that epic run by Barnes, oddly clad in white shirt, white shorts and red socks. Gomes says any Brazilian would be proud to have scored it.
“He made us all confused about what he’d do and that’s why no one tackled him. There was nothing I could do.” Leandro agrees. “Barnes stopped the ball really well and I went to the right because I thought someone could be coming up from behind. That gave him more space.”
“Great goals at the Maracana can get a plaque with the date and name of the person who netted it,” adds Gomes. “I believe Barnes probably deserves to be there as well.”
This feature originally appeared in the August 2014 edition of FourFourTwo magazine.Subscribe!
featureFri, 27 Mar 2015 15:00:00 +0000Gregg Davies367275 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comRoberto Carlos: I was aiming for the ‘A’ in La Poste, but it went miles away from that!Roberto Carlos talks FFT through his sensational swerver against France during Le Tournoi in 1997...Andrew Murrayhttp://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/roberto-carlos-great-goals-retold
Roberto Carlos is thinking. Hard. The legendary left-back scored two of the most memorable goals in history – a banana free-kick against France and ‘El Gol Impossible’ for Real Madrid against Tenerife, whacked home basically from the corner flag – and FFT wants to know which is better.
“It’s got to the be the free-kick against France,” the then-Sivasspor manager eventually responds, that trademark smile enveloping his face. “That was more spectacular, even if the goal against Tenerife was more difficult.”
It’s a goal that could only have been scored by a Brazilian. Struck from fully 40 yards out, the ball’s improbable arc around the wrong side of the French wall swerved inside Fabien Barthez’s left-hand post having set off going 10 yards wide. Yes, it was only Le Tournoi – a World Cup warm-up unfathomably won by England – but it matters not.
“I always struck set-pieces on the valve because that’s the hardest part of the ball and you get more power,” Carlos explains, picking up a nearby ball and acting out his thought process (watch the goal again and you can see him carefully placing the ball beforehand). “I always kicked the ball from its bottom left to the top right, which helped it swerve.
“I’ll always remember the advertising behind the goal. I was aiming for the ‘A’ in La Poste, but when I hit the shot it was miles away from that – going towards a different advert! The ballboy was diving out of the way of the shot, too. He should have had more confidence in me!”
But there’s one unexpected element of the goal, even to Carlos. “One thing that really surprised me was the spin on the ball. After it grazes the post, the spin changes direction. Watch it again and you’ll see.
“Goals like that come around only once in your career. I hit a few like that in training, with and without a wall, but never with as much swerve and spin. It was a beautiful goal – unforgettable.”
This interview originally featured in the April 2014 edition of FourFourTwo magazine.Subscribe!
featureThu, 26 Mar 2015 00:01:00 +0000Gregg Davies365587 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comDarlington Nagbe: The coach had told me I’d score my first MLS goal that nightThe Portland Timbers midfielder recalls hisMLS Goal of the Year against Sporting Kansas City in 2011...Clemente Lisihttp://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/darlington-nagbe-great-goals-retold
Portland Timbers’ Nagbe is developing a habit of scoring wonder-goals. In June 2013, he finished a good passing move with a no-look curled finish – a contender for goal of the season.But awards are nothing new
to him thanks to his 2011 worldie, which the Liberian recreates for FFT now...
“Jack Jewsbury crossed the ball and Kansas keeper Jimmy Nielsen punched it away. My job was not to lose the ball, so I just juggled it. My first touch wasn’t good enough, so I took another. The whole time, all I was thinking was ‘touch and shoot’. When I did, it went in.
“I was very excited. Before that game, the coach had told me I’d score my first MLS goal that night – that’s why I ran over to the sidelines when I did. We were at home and everyone was screaming – it was crazy. The energy is always great; Portland is a fantastic place to play. The only negative was we lost 2-1.
“After the game, my phone went crazy. Everyone was calling and texting me: my agent, my high-school coach, my college team-mates... my father Joe [former captain of Liberia] said it was one of the best goals he’d ever seen. My mother cried, but then she often cries when she’s happy.
“A lot of players go through an entire career without scoring a goal like that. I got lucky that I did so early in my career. It was later voted 2011 MLS Goal of the Year. It was unbelievable: I never thought I’d win something like that in my first season.
“I haven’t tried to recreate that goal – I couldn’t do it again – but kids on Facebook have told me they tried and can’t do it. That’s kinda funny.”
This interview originally featured in the September 2013 edition of FourFourTwo magazine.Subscribe!
featureMon, 23 Mar 2015 14:31:00 +0000Gregg Davies365544 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comMancini: Ah, the stepovers. They’ve always been my trademarkMancini recalls his 2007 stepover-laden stunner for Roma against Lyon in the Champions League...http://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/mancini-great-goals-retold
“Ah, the stepovers,” former Roma winger Mancini smiles. “We call them pedaladas in Brazil. They’ve always been my trademark.” So he showed with a stepover frenzy vs Lyon – and specifically Anthony Reveillere – in the 2006/07 Champions League last 16.
How many stepovers did he pull off before knocking the ball past the French full-back and lashing it into the top corner to give Roma a 2-0 lead? Mancini guesses: “Five?” He doesn’t really know. Neither does Reveillere. “I never got a chance to ask him,” Mancini chuckles.
“It was a mix of technique, strength and acceleration – a little bit of everything,” says the Brazilian. “It was a great cross-field ball from Francesco Totti: we may not have been best friends, but we understood each other on the pitch. He put me one-on-one with Reveillere, and I had to go for it.
“We love that sort of thing back home. It comes naturally from our childhood. It’s in our blood: we’re always looking for the pedaladas. Non-Brazilian players try it, but it’s different. When we got past Lyon, we clashed with Manchester United in the quarter-finals [and lost 7-1 in the second leg]. Cristiano Ronaldo was there and he has the skill, but it’s not the same as a Brazilian when he does it.”
Mancini, who also turned out for Milan and Inter, continues: “That was one of the most beautiful goals I’ve ever scored – but not the best. In my first season at Roma, I scored a backheel against Lazio that earned me the name Il Tacco di Dio[the heel of God].
“The funny thing with this goal, though, is that I got an offer from Lyon after leaving Roma...”
This interview originally featured in the October 2012 edition of FourFourTwo magazine.Subscribe!
featureWed, 11 Mar 2015 13:50:00 +0000Gregg Davies358356 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comMauro Bressan: When I got back onto my feet I just started screamingMauro Bressan recalls his bicycle kick for Fiorentina against Barcelona in the Champions League...http://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/mauro-bressan-great-goals-retold
Mauro Bressan scored few goals in a career that spanned 20 years and nearly 500 games – yet one placed him in Champions League folklore.
Bressan’s overhead kick for Fiorentina in their European tie against Barcelona remains one of the greatest of its kind. “A lot of people remember the goal,” says the Italian, “and remind me of it when they meet me.”
With the score 0-0 after 14 minutes in their group game at the Artemio Franchi stadium – a thriller that ended 3-3 – Barça appeared to have cleared the ball from danger. Then Bressan, surrounded by players, went for the spectacular. Launching himself into the air with his back to goal, the midfielder made a perfect connection and sent the ball flying into the top-right-hand corner of Francesc Arnau’s goal.
“It probably seemed a bit crazy at the time,” he recalls, “but I wanted to try it because I had attempted it a few times in training with not much success.” Good thing he did.
“It all came down to the way I hit it, and that came about through co-ordination, then connecting cleanly with the ball,” he continues.
Bressan’s utterly shocked reaction to the ball hitting the back of the net is also fondly remembered, and not just by Fiorentina fans. “I have wonderful memories of my goal in Florence,” he says. “When I got back onto my feet I just started screaming.”
And as if that wasn’t enough already, Bressan went on to lay a perfect assist later in the game, flicking through a deft backheel for Abel Balbo to slot home.
But it’s for his audacious strike that he will always be remembered.
This interview originally featured in the January 2012 edition of FourFourTwo magazine.Subscribe!
featureTue, 10 Mar 2015 13:20:00 +0000Gregg Davies357827 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comClaudio Lopez: Kily Gonzalez bowed down to show it had not been an ordinary goalClaudio Lopez talks FFT through his superb volleyat the Philips Stadion in the Champions League...http://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/claudio-lopez-great-goals-retold
Having regularly seen the likes of Romario, Ronaldo, Ruuds Gullit and Van Nistelrooy and the Van der Kerkhof twins to boot, PSV fans have witnessed some superb strikes over the years.
But one of the best strikes ever seen at the Philips Stadion was by a Valencia player: Claudio Lopez, whose amazing volley won Champions League goal of the season.
“It could be the greatest goal I ever scored, in that it was spectacular but also because it’s still remembered by Valencia fans,” says Lopez, who has become a rally driver since retiring in 2010.
“I hadn’t scored for a long time,” he recalls. “We’d started the season very badly. But one aspect our manager [Hector Cuper] had worked on with us a lot was concentration, and we stayed focused that night.
“Amedeo Carboni took a long free-kick and I ran to get the ball, as I always did. It was a very common play – only this time, with the ball still high, I decided to take a direct shot rather than controlling it.
"It was a risky decision, as you know there’s a chance you’ll miss the ball completely, but not this time. My marker couldn’t do anything, and the goalkeeper didn’t expect it at all.
“Kily Gonzalez was the first team-mate to come over to me, and he bowed down to show it had not been an ordinary goal.”
Indeed it wasn’t. Valencia would go on to reach the final, where they would lose 3-0 to Vicente del Bosque’s Real Madrid.
This interview originally featured in the August 2012 edition of FourFourTwo magazine.Subscribe!
featureTue, 10 Mar 2015 11:00:00 +0000Gregg Davies357826 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comEric Hassli: Great Goals RetoldEric Hassli talks FourFourTwo through his Vancouver wonder-volley against Seattle Sounders in 2011...http://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/eric-hassli-great-goals-retold
One-time France Under-21 international Eric Hassli hasn’t made a huge impact on the global game, spending many years in Switzerland and failing to make an appearance during a 2002 loan at Southampton. But he did score not one but two of the finest goals that MLS enthusiasts have ever seen.
First the then-Vancouver Whitecaps forward belted home a blinder against Seattle Sounders. When defender Osvaldo Alonso miscontrolled a pass on a bouncy pitch, Hassli simply flipped the ball over him and blasted home a wonder-volley. Keeper Kasey Keller, 41, didn’t have had a chance.
“It was the end of the game and we were 2-1 down,” Hassli recalls to FFT. “I saw the defender miss the ball so I took a chance, deciding to hit it over him and take a shot.”
The unlikely goal was nominated for FIFA’s Puskas Award but more importantly clinched a draw for Vancouver. “At the time we were losing a lot,” says the Frenchman. “I was relieved, and happy for the fans that they finally had something to cheer about.
“I’ve worked on my volleys since I was a little kid in France,” continues Hassli, now playing for Las Vegas Legands. “They don’t happen too often in a game; you need space and perfect timing – and a bit of luck.”
A year after that strike, Hassli posted another contender in his one-man race for greatest MLS goal. Against Vancouver’s Canadian rivals Toronto FC – whom he’d join months later – he walloped in an unstoppable injury-time equaliser, again on the volley.
“I’ve scored a couple of good ones that I’m proud of, but none like that!” Hassli laughs. “I got the perfect cross, forced my body into position and hit the ball as hard as I could.”
Hassli calls it the “best goal I’ve ever scored” – but FFT prefers his original looper.
This interview originally featured in the November 2014 edition of FourFourTwo magazine.Subscribe!
featureFri, 06 Mar 2015 18:25:00 +0000Gregg Davies356387 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comMarcelo Balboa: Great Goals RetoldMarcelo Balbao attempts to recall his stunning overhead kick for Colorado Rapids against Columbus Crew in 2000...http://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/marcelo-balboa-i-dont-remember-it-all-i-had-no-idea-what-day-it-was
It was, most agree, the greatest goal ever in Major League Soccer: a scorching bicycle kick scored by a defender in April 2000.
The scorer: USA national team stalwart Marcelo Balboa, en route to a 3-2 win for his hometown Colorado Rapids over Columbus Crew.
Served by Anders Limpar from the right, Balboa caught the ball on the volley and blasted it past keeper Mark Dougherty. It was an incredible piece of skill, and an attempt Balboa was known for: at USA 94, he came agonisingly close with a similar effort.
But the true story of that goal has never been shared – until now. “I don’t remember it at all,” says Balboa.
To this day, he has no memory of the game because he was deeply concussed after a first-half collision with Brian McBride. Over to you, Marcelo...
“Apparently, the trainer asked me four questions – all of which I got wrong. I had no idea what day it was, or what the score was. He told me I’d have to come off – and I threatened to kill him. I guess my words really got to him, because I stayed on.
“Normally when I scored I’d run toward the bench, but I apparently just ran down the field. I had no idea where I was. The first time I saw the goal was when we were back at the hotel, and I saw the highlights on TV. I said to my room-mate [Ross Paule] that it was a good goal. He stared at me and said, ‘That was you!’ It was the worst concussion I’ve ever had.
“It’s so disappointing not to remember that goal. It was a something I’d dreamed of doing since I was a little kid, because Pele had done it. I used to practise that on my parents’ bed!”
This interview originally featured in the May 2011 edition of FourFourTwo magazine.Subscribe!
featureFri, 06 Mar 2015 18:00:00 +0000Gregg Davies356378 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comCarlos Ruiz: Great Goals RetoldMunicipal forward Carlos Ruiz recalls his long-range rocket for Philadelphia Union against Chicago Fire from 2011...http://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/carlos-ruiz-great-goals-retold
Many a great goal has come from a great free-kick: think David Platt vs Belgium, or Roberto Carlos vs France. Then there’s... forget it, we could be here all day.
Fewer classic strikes, however, come from absolutely terrible set-pieces – but playing for Philadelphia Union vs Chicago Fire in 2011, Carlos Ruiz did things the hard way.
Having weakly chipped a potentially dangerous free-kick straight onto a defender’s head, Ruiz chased down the clearance and made amends by flicking the ball on before wellying it over the keeper and in – with his weaker peg. “If I sound off-guard,” laughed one commentator, “It’s because it may be the first time I’ve seen Ruiz shoot with his left foot!”
The Guatemalan recalls to FFT: “I was lucky the ball bounced back to me from the free-kick. My first thought was just to shoot as hard as I could – I thought if I stopped the ball first, I’d hesitate too long.
“It was a golazo in the truest sense of the term,” he continues. “It was impossible for any goalkeeper to save. Honestly, that’s the type of goal you don’t plan; you really don’t think about it before shooting. You just attempt the shot and wait to see what happens.
“I had attempted that shot in practice several times, but you never think you can score a goal like that during a real game. Still, what I enjoy most about football is creating something out of nothing and, in this case, I was able to do just that after a bad free-kick.
“Some people have called it the goal of the decade. For me, it’s one of the best goals I have ever scored.”
This interview originally featured in the June 2013 edition of FourFourTwo magazine.Subscribe!
featureFri, 06 Mar 2015 17:30:00 +0000Gregg Davies356368 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comCamilo Sanvezzo: Great Goals RetoldThe current Queretaro forward recalls his corker for Vancouver Whitecaps against Portland Timbers back in 2013...http://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/camilo-sanvezzo-only-way-go-was-scissor-kick-luckily-it-went
Camilo Sanvezzo is a nomad. From his native Brazil to Malta to South Korea to Canada and Mexico, the forward has played for five clubs in five countries, topping the league’s goal charts in three of them. In MLS, his legacy was one heck of a goal.
The 26-year-old, who now links up with Ronaldinho at Queretaro and was nearing a European move before tearing an ACL in his right knee in December, mixes Brazilian flair with a killer instinct in front of goal. Playing for Vancouver against Portland Timbers, he combined the two perfectly.
The final net-buster in a 2-2 draw, assisted by former Tottenham full-back Lee Young-Pyo, won a point for the Canadian side and MLS Goal of the Year.
“It was one of those crazy matches where everything goes right for a striker,” he says. “We were losing, but midway through the second half I equalised with a fine free-kick. A minute later, they made it 2-1. It took us less than a minute after that to start the move for our second goal.
“Our left winger made several dummies before delivering a dangerous cross. The ball flew all the way across the box without anyone touching it until it got to Lee Young-Pyo, who put in a first-touch cross to me near the edge of the box.
“The truth is: I couldn’t plan. I had only tenths of a second to decide whether to control the ball or shoot. I realised it was too high for me to try a normal volley, so the only way to go was a scissor kick. Luckily it went in – otherwise, I might have embarrassed myself!
“It’s my most beautiful goal. I’m honoured it was considered the best in that season’s MLS and was named a candidate for the FIFA Puskas Award.”
This interview originally featured in the April 2015 edition of FourFourTwo magazine. Subscribe!
featureFri, 06 Mar 2015 17:10:00 +0000Gregg Davies356348 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comClarence Seedorf: Great Goals RetoldClarence Seedorf recalls his 1997 stunner in the Madrid derby which earned him 250 bottles of wine...Simone Stentihttp://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/clarence-seedorf-great-goals-retold
As FFT observed in its Super Sunday feature last month (198, December 2010), the Madrid derby is often so one-sided that it needs a bit of a spark to excite the fans. Enter Seedorf, who took it upon himself to provide the entertainment by smashing home a frankly absurd goal.
Spotting the keeper out of position, naturally expecting a cross, the Dutchman arrowed the ball into the top corner from just inside the opposition half – the very embodiment of “Surely he won’t shoot from there? He is, you know...”
“For my fans that missile is the greatest goal I ever scored,” Clarence tells FFT. “It was amazing from an emotional point of view too, because the day before, my first son had been born. I arrived back in Spain that morning, had lunch, had a rest, then I went and scored that goal in the derby!
“There are goals that were technically more difficult: for example against Torino when I dribbled past three, or a left-footed volley against Juventus which was a very difficult movement. At home I’ve got a photo of Buffon in the air as the ball goes right into the top corner.
“But that goal against Atletico brought prizes, including 250 bottles of wine. Considering I am teetotal, imagine how many parties I had to throw to get rid of it!”
This article was originally published in the New Year 2011 edition of FourFourTwo.Subscribe!
featureTue, 13 Jan 2015 17:30:00 +0000Gregg Davies323341 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comLars Ricken: Great Goals RetoldSuper-sub Lars Ricken talks FourFourTwo through his Champions League-clinching chip against Juventus in 1997...Uli Hessehttp://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/lars-ricken-great-goals-retold
From the occasion (club football’s biggest match) and opposition (the best team in the world at that time) to the audacity and strike itself, Lars Ricken’s 30-yard chip to clinch the Champions League for Borussia Dortmund is one of the competition’s most stunning goals.
Ricken, just 20, had been on the pitch for 16 seconds when his spectacular first-time lob made the score 3-1 and doomed the mighty Juve. It was instinctive, spontaneous... or was it?
“I’d been sitting on the bench for 70 minutes, studying the game,” super-sub Ricken recalls to FFT, “and I noticed that Angelo Peruzzi was always positioned far from his goal.
"I turned to [team-mate] Heiko Herrlich and said: ‘If I come on, the first thing I’m going to do is shoot, no matter where I am.’ That stayed in the back of my mind.
“It was simple in theory, putting it into practice was the hard part. Eight or nine attempts out of 10 wouldn’t have gone in. But this one did – and that’s what it’s all about in big games.”
Ricken scoring was inevitable – fate, even. “I wasn’t happy when Ottmar Hitzfeld told me I wouldn’t be starting,” he recalls, “but man-management was his great strength and he told me the evening before the match that I would play an important role regardless. He said my chances of seeing action were great. So I was fired up for the final, even though I was on the bench.”
It helped that the youngster had a reputation for scoring crucial goals. “I had scored the winning goals away at Auxerre in the quarter-finals and Manchester United in the semis. When [defender] Jurgen Kohler was asked before the match about the Golden Goal rule, which was then in effect, he said: ‘If anyone scores a Golden Goal in the final, it will be Ricken.’”
The stage was set. With 20 minutes remaining, Ricken’s number came up. “Now Ricken comes on!” announced one German radio reporter. “He’ll score the third goal – or so we hope.” And he did.
This article was originally published in the February 2015 edition of FourFourTwo. Subscribe!
featureMon, 12 Jan 2015 17:30:00 +0000Gregg Davies322710 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comGaizka Mendieta: Great Goals RetoldValencia maestro Gaizka Mendieta talks FourFourTwo through his thunder-volley against Barcelona in 1999...http://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/gaizka-mendieta-great-goals-retold
The rise of Valencia at the turn of the century seemsa lifetime away in light ofSpain’s current duopoly. Inspired by Gaizka Mendieta, Los Che’s success began in 1999 with their first domestic trophy in 20 years, as they saw off Barça and Madrid on the way to Copa del Rey glory.
In the quarter-final first leg at the Nou Camp, Mendieta thundered in the sort of volley that would have even seen Alan Partridge straining for superlatives, his shot arrowing into that perfect intersection of post and crossbar before anyone in the stadium could so much as blink.
“It’s funny because that set-piece wasn’t trained,” Mendieta recalls. “It was improvised from the moment we took the corner. I saw I was on my own outside the box, so I raised my hand asking for the ball from [Adrian] Ilie. He put over a perfect long pass and I just hit it.”
Not comfortable with scoring merely one goal-of-the-season contender, the Basque midfielder helped himself to another in the 3-0 final victory over Atletico Madrid.
Controlling a cross on his chest with his back to goal, Mendieta flicked the ball backwards over the heads of the Atletico defenders before spinning to fire in a low left-foot volley.
“The goal in the final took more ability, self-control, awareness of other players and technique, but that volley against Barça was obviously fantastic. Saying that, it could have gone anywhere!”
From the December 2011 issue of FourFourTwo. Subscribe!
featureFri, 12 Dec 2014 16:00:00 +0000Gregg Davies304114 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comMartin Palermo: Great Goals RetoldBoca Juniors all-time top scorer talks FourFourTwo through perhaps the most spectacular goal I ever scored in 2009...Martin Mazurhttp://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/martin-palermo-great-goals-retold
It isn’t often that headersare considered truly classicgoals, but then it isn’t often that someone finds the net with their nut from an incredible 43 yards out.
Argentine striker Martin ‘El Loco’ Palermo had a reputation for being strong in the air throughout his prolific career, and aged 35 he had his noggin to thank for what he describes as “perhaps the most spectacular goal I ever scored”.
Boca Juniors’ all-time top scorer explains: “One gift I always had was finding new ways of scoring. I didn’t look for it – it would just happen. A bicycle kick, a penalty where I slipped and hit the ball with both of my feet [it still went in], a header where I ended up hanging from the bar... and that night against Velez was another special goal for my collection.
“We were 2-2 at a packed La Bombonera with less than 20 minutes to go. There was a long ball from the back, Nico Gaitan pushed forward to press the last defender, and Velez keeper Montoya was forced to clear it with a long kick.
“The ball was directed right where I was standing, close to the centre of the pitch. I instinctively tried to head it back to the empty goal, as Montoya was completely out of position.
“It was really magical to see the ball kissing the back of the net, as it was making a dangerous curve and I feared it would end up hitting the post.
“I took off my shirt and celebrated with all the fans, with my arms wide open. It was a key victory for us, as it was rumoured our coach, Alfio Basile, would have quit if we didn’t get the three points. After that, he stayed.”
From the May 2012 issue of FourFourTwo magazine. Subscribe!
featureThu, 11 Dec 2014 16:45:00 +0000Gregg Davies303569 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comSergio Aguero: Great Goals RetoldThe Argentine striker talks FourFourTwo through his wonder-goal for Independiente in 2005...Martin Mazurhttp://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/sergio-aguero-great-goals-retold
Fans of Argentine side Independiente will never forget September 11, 2005. On that day, they witnessed what most fans of the club say is their greatest ever goal.
Sergio Aguero, aged just 17, had just made history in the Avellaneda derby with a 13-second solo run that put the finishing touch to a 4-0 win over their bitter rivals. Aguero remembers it well.
“I will never forget that day. The match was scheduled to start before noon for security reasons, so we had to wake up very early. Our stadium was packed. We were winning 3-0 with a hat-trick from Frutos. In the 37th minute, I got a loose ball behind the halfway line, made a spin and went past Vitali.
"We were two against two and all I was thinking was how to make a pass for Frutos, but he was well-marked. I had Diego Crosa ahead. He was retreating and waiting, so I kept running.
"When I found myself in the area, the spaces had disappeared. I tried a dummy, but Crosa was intelligent and quick and didn’t buy it, so I tried another, and finally I decided to take the shot with my left foot before he blocked me completely.
"When I saw the ball in the net, I removed my jersey to show a T-shirt I was wearing, bearing the legend ‘For you, Emiliano’, in the memory of my friend Emiliano Molina, who had recently died in a car accident. It was very emotional.
"When I watched the goal on TV that night, I couldn’t believe I had made such a move. It was the perfect derby and my first ever goal at Racing.
"My dad would always say to me that I didn’t have to wait until getting a chance of shooting with my right foot, so we’d been practising a lot of left-foot shots in my early years. And that day, I had the chance to tell him how right he was.”
From the April 2011 issue of FourFourTwo magazine. Subscribe!
featureThu, 11 Dec 2014 13:00:00 +0000Gregg Davies303492 at http://www.fourfourtwo.com